Khamoshi: The Musical

An Indian film about the daughter of a deaf family. Joseph and Flavy are a couple in Goa who neither hear nor speak. Their daughter Annie can hear and can sing. The family's entire connection with the world runs through her: shopping, the hospital, talking to a neighbour, she interprets. Annie has a voice and cannot use it. Her father sees music as a threat; he is afraid something he cannot understand will take his daughter from him. The film is built on that tension: the conflict between what a child feels she owes her family and her right to want her own life. At the centre is the father played by Nana Patekar; angry, unable to show affection, communicating entirely with his hands. The performance is what the film is most praised for. Manisha Koirala plays Annie, Seema Biswas the mother, and Salman Khan the young man involved in music. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's first film. The first examples of the visual style he later became known for are here. It failed commercially but was well received by critics and settled into a place of its own over time. An emotional, well-acted production for anyone who likes Indian cinema and family drama. For a viewer who wants restraint, the film keeps its emotional pitch high.